9th
JULY, 2001
VENUE: INDIAN SOCIAL INSTITUTE, NEW DELHI
15th June 2001
Dear Friends
In the last two or more years we have been witnessing drastic changes
in the
political mindset and the persistent attempts on the part of central
and
several state governments to amend the Fifth Schedule of our
Constitution.
The State has incessantly been working on, with the powerful industrial
lobby, especially mining, behind it, to repeal the laws related to
protection of tribal lands in the scheduled areas so as to hasten the
process of privatisation in these regions.
The pace at which the government is preparing for amendment of the
Fifth
Schedule without seeking a public mandate is alarming. It considers
exploitation of the natural resources in these regions through
industrialisation and privatisation as the only direction in which
progress
of the nation is desirable. It prefers to ignore the wealth of these
regions
and the vast majority of adivasi populations who will be destroyed by
such a
move as removing the constitutional safeguards. In short, it chooses
to
relinquish its supreme responsibility of welfare and social justice.
There have been very definite actions by the government to signal a
cause
for serious concern and strong protests from adivasi communities and
groups,
NGO's, political parties and others who are concerned with and working
in
the Fifth Schedule areas. While some of us have been fighting this
pressure
in our respective states through people's movements, legal actions, etc
the
government is resolute in its stand on the amendment. This is clearly
reflected in the nature of changes to the Fifth Schedule laws it is
envisaging for accommodating mining interests.
The Supreme Court's judgement in 1997 (Samatha Vs the State of A.P)
declared
that all private mining leases in the scheduled areas of the country
were
illegal, unconstitutional and null and void. This shook the entire
political machinery which is right in the centre of a transformation
from a
socialist democracy to a market-oriented governance. The remarkable
judgement came as a slap in the face of liberalisation.
Yet, political arrogance has not refrained from disrespecting the
Constitution even after this judgement and has gone ahead with its
first
sale of the public sector BALCO, which is a mining industry bang inside
the
scheduled area. This and the statements of the divestment minister Mr.
Arun
Shourie that the government is looking forward to the undoing of the
judgement in the Balco case, is reflective of the contempt towards
upholding
the rights of the most marginalised communities in our country - the
Adivasis. The Balco case has only increased the urgency of the problem
by
the government taking an aggressive stance to amend the Fifth Schedule
and
remove further bottlenecks to its privatisation frenzy.
The opinion of the government is again blatant in its recommendations
through the Attorney General Shri. Soli Sorabjee who had, ironically,
appeared on behalf of the tribals in the Samatha Case. He clearly
stated to
the Ministry of Mines (Secret Document dated the 10th July, 2000 No.
16/48/97-M) that
" the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution of India can be amended to
counter
the adverse effect of the Samatha judgement".
The Supreme Court can reconsider its previous judgement (Samatha case)
if
another pending case on a similar issue is brought before it. (In this
situation, the Balco case which is pending for hearing at the Supreme
Court,
is being used by the government to review the samatha judgement)
"The other course open to parliament is to effect necessary amendments
so as
to overcome the said Supreme Court Judgement by removing the legal
basis of
the said Judgement. Such a course of action is legally permissible.
This is indicative of the urgent need for a national movement on the
Fifth
Schedule and industrialisation vis-à-vis protection of communities
living in
these areas. While it is left to the judiciary to perform its social
responsibility in upholding the Constitution, all of us also have to
come
together and oppose the amendment to prevent such an imminent
constitutional
disaster.
We are writing this letter to initiate a discussion with as many groups
as
possible who are fighting on this urgent issue and plan out strategies
for
halting this move. For this purpose, we are organising a Protest
National
Convention in ISI, New Delhi, on 8th & 9th July 2001 with the
participation
of Adivasi communities, grass-roots organisations and movements, NGO's,
resource and advocacy groups, trade unions, legal and other experts.
We invite you to participate in this Convention. Please drop a word in
confirmation to the address given below.
In Solidarity,
Ravi Rebbapragada,
On behalf of the Organisors:
Samata Hyderabad
Mines,Minerals & PEOPLE (mm&P) Hyderabad
PEACE, SRUTI, Delhi Forum New Delhi
SETU, Adivasi Ekta Parishad Gujarat
JOHAR, Vistapit Mukti Vahini Jharkhand
Ankuran, Orissa Adivasi Manch Orissa
NCAS Pune
Adivasi Khanij Uthkanan Samithi Chattisgarh
ASTHA Rajasthan
Academy for Mountain Environics Uttaranchal
Indian Social Institute New Delhi
Contact Addresses:
Samata, Bineet Mundu,
Plot 1249/A, Delhi Forum,
Road No.62, Jubilee Hills, F 10/12,
Hyderabad-500033, A.P Malaviya Nagar,
Email:
samatha@satyam.net.in New Delhi Telephone: 040-6505974; 3553391 Tel : 011 6680883
Telefax: 040-3542975 6680914
Email:
delforum@vsnl.com Fr. Louis Prakash
Indian Social Institute
10, Institutional area
Lodhi Road, N Delhi - 3
Tel: 011 4611745,4622379
Email:
ISI@unv.ernet.in 
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